News / Transport
Evening parking fee hike
Drivers will pay more to park in Bristol city centre but the fee hike is less than initially planned after pushback.
Car parks owned by Bristol City Council will soon charge £1.70 an hour from 6pm to 10pm, compared to the existing flat charge of £4.50 after 6pm.
A £2.70 per hour fee was initially considered last September, when councillors were concerned the new fees would be too expensive, particularly due to the impact on low-paid staff working in bars, restaurants and venues. Since then, the council heard from night-time economy leaders.
In response to feedback, the charges will still be increased, but not by as much as initially planned. Councillors voted to approve the changes during a meeting of the transport policy committee on Thursday, March 20. They will take effect in around six to nine months.
Green councillor Ed Plowden, chair of the transport committee, said: “We ran through a number of proposals and we significantly modified them in relation to the feedback they gave us.
“We’ve done quite a good job of listening to the concerns and directly responding to them. It’s going to be a fraction of what we were proposing.”
Labour said representatives from the night-time economy still didn’t support the increases, despite being less than initially thought. Conservatives said the higher fees weren’t “unreasonable” given inflation.
Greens and the Liberal Democrats voted in favour, Labour against, and Tories abstained.
At the moment, drivers have to pay a flat fee of £4.50 to park from 6pm to midnight in council-owned car parks in the city centre. This applies even if drivers arrive in the afternoon, and stay for just a few minutes past 6pm, on top of the hourly rate for parking during the day.
People who stray into the evening charge often complain to the council that the regime is unfair.
Instead, drivers will be charged £1.70 per hour between 6pm and 10pm, which is £1 cheaper than the hourly rate during the day. Parking after 10pm will be free.
Initially, the plan was to charge £2.70 per hour in the evening, but this was considered to be too expensive. Parking from 6pm to 10pm, for example, will cost £6.80, more than the current £4.50 fee, but less than the £10.80 initially proposed.
New night bus services are also being considered, but plans for these are at an early stage and without any firm commitment. Many existing bus services finish early in the evening in Bristol, like the M2 metrobus which stops running after 9.30pm.
Some women also reportedly feel unsafe on buses late at night, so minibuses for staff were also suggested.
The committee will also write to the West of England Combined Authority and Dott, requesting that e-scooters can be rented overnight, as they currently stop working at midnight.
Main photo: Hannah Massoudi
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